Expo Line To Add More Cars

L.A. Metro ridership increases, leading to overcrowding on the two newest rail extensions. But Metro is on it.

I took the metro this weekend to get to the Hollywood Bowl. From where I live, I take the Expo line to Downtown and the Red line to Hollywood. Someday there will be more North/South lines that will make the route more convenient (here’s hoping!).

It was a Friday evening, but well after rush hour and before nightlife. It was about a fifteen minute wait until the train arrived, and by that time the platform was filling up. When the train pulled up, I was surprised at how full the cars were already. It didn’t seem like everyone on the platform would be able to squeeze into the three fully-packed cars. Somehow everyone made it, but there was no room to spare. I can’t imagine trying to maneuver a bike on the train!

The Expo line officially opened service to Santa Monica in May. Since then, ridership has skyrocketed. Most of the train cars are full, even during off-peak hours. It’s a fairly stress-free way to get from Downtown to the beach, or vice versa. But the complaints are rising that the wait times are too long and there are not enough cars to accommodate the influx in passengers.

Metro CEO, Phil Washington, recently announced that they are already in the process of producing additional cars to alleviate overcrowding on both the Expo and Gold lines. Metro contractor, Kinky Sharyo, is producing 4 cars per month, which then move on to testing before they are put into commission.

It’s encouraging to see LA Metro taking proactive measures to keep riders happy. Hopefully they will be able to keep up with ridership demand, and keep pace with their expansion and additional lines (such as the Crenshaw line).

In any case, the metro trip from my home to Hollywood was convenient. It took about as long as it would take driving to the venue in traffic. It’s nice not to have to worry about driving, but we’re still far from the day when we can hop on the metro to get anywhere in the city.

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This article has 8 comments

It’s always good to hear that more attention is being given to public transit. I like the convenience of a car, but sometimes dealing with traffic and finding parking is just too much hassle. I drive, but sometimes I like to take the train because it’s cheaper and, again, my old enemy, finding a place to park. Creating more public transit is also a great way to reduce congestion on the roads (*cough the 405 cough*) and, for those who party at bars, a good way to keep drunk drivers off the roads.
What other lines do you guys think they should expand?

That’s why not buying a car is a good option. Sometimes the traffic does not really let you enjoy your car to its fullest and it becomes boring. Public transport has to be enhanced, also due to the increase of the pupulation.

I’ll have to disagree and say that sometimes having a car is a good thing. For grocery shopping, for instance, or going out late at night. Sometimes I go to events like Renaissance Fairs that are a bit off the beaten path, or sometimes you work a bit farther away and changing buses is a hassle. When I lived in San Francisco, yeah, having a car isn’t really worth it, If you mostly stay in the city, public transit is a good option, but because LA is so much more spread out, it’s nice to have a car some days.

Of course it is right, but it’s a big waste of money when itcomes to gas, spare pieces and all that sort of thing. I know that having a car is cool, but the problem comes when you have to spend money on it.

This is true, especially if you live in a big city, like New York City. There’s nowhere even to put your car! Nowhere I’d trust, anyway. Having a car is only REALLY advantageous when you live in a small town and need the car to get around everywhere. I think that we need more public transportation, because as our population grows, our roads will not! In Japan, almost everyone takes the trains and subways. Driving for the common population doesn’t exist much over there, especially in Tokyo! Cars absolutely aren’t necessary.

This is certainly good news for the users of public transportation. I cannot say that I have much experience with the Expo, but I hope that it is one of the more clean methods of transportation out there, and that is not something that I can say about the public options here.